Jail brawl injures two inmates

August 23, 2010 12:00:00 AM PDT

CASTAIC, Calif. --

About 200 inmates got into a brawl at the Pitchess Detention Center in Castaic sending two men to the hospital Sunday. "This looks to be a coordinated effort by inmates to attack other inmates," said Los Angeles County Sheriff's Captain Michael Parker.

Officers from the nearby Santa Clarita station and the California Highway Patrol helped jail officers control the fighting. Parker said inmates also used their beds to barricade doors and keep out deputies during the dispute.

The crowded Pitchess facility in Castaic has seen many disturbances in recent years including a racially-charged riot in 2006 that left one man dead and more than 100 injured. There have been half a dozen major disturbances in this year alone.

Sheriff's deputies tested out a new device at the facility last week that would subdue inmates by zapping them with heat without injuring them.